Canadian Red Cross

Stewardship of an Iconic Global Symbol

Originally conceived at the 1864 Geneva Convention, the Red Cross on a white background is one of the most immediately recognized symbols in the world. The mission of the organization is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity around the world. It is the leading humanitarian organization through which people voluntarily demonstrate their caring for others in need.

The Canadian Red Cross Society (CRC) is one of 190 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. After review of the current state of its identity system, the organization identified many issues with how the symbol was currently being employed – notably, difficulties in digital applications and inconsistent alignment with the International Red Cross Movement.

The CRC engaged Concrete to review its current identity system and develop a comprehensive set of guidelines that addresses the identity’s general usability, public perception, and accessibility, all while representing the organization’s core values of humanitarianism, leadership, trust, expertise, safety, protection, hope, neutrality and unity.

The revised identity guidelines details a comprehensive system of scaling the symbol along with directions for using the symbol in all stakeholder touch points, including communications materials, digital applications, signage and field applications.

Services

Visual Identity Guidelines /

Communication Materials /

Signage /

Packaging /

Digital

The Existing Identity System

The existing visual identity system did not scale effectively, had issues in digital applications and did not align well with the systems of other members of the International Red Cross Movement.